Joe Dunne was speaking to the press in nearly exactly the same position as he was back in April.

Back then he had watched his side lose 2-1, this time round they lost 4-2, having led 2-0.

The message was the same, however.

He said he dared the players to perform like that again in front of the Abbey crowd on Tuesday night.

The last time he said that, as well as getting the job on a permanent basis in the midweek, his side reacted and smashed Port Vale 5-0 on the final day of the season.

Even the most optimistic United fan would struggle to think that will happen against Forest Green Rovers in midweek.

It’s the second time within the space of 10 weeks that Cambridge United have conceded four against the Exiles. And, like the Carabao Cup game, they also conceded two goals within five minutes from the same player.

Padraig Amond bagged a four minute brace at the Abbey in August, while Jamille Matt managed it in three minutes on Saturday afternoon to extend the U’s' hoodoo against the Welsh side.

At the Abbey last month the U’s were simply the second best team and sometimes you just have to accept that.

After events at Rodney Parade, however, the players perhaps need to take a harder look at themselves.

Newport were on the canvas, shell-shocked to the point that Michael Flynn made a tactical switch after 40 minutes, bringing on the impressive Matt.

The alarm bells must have been ringing after losing their last home league game 6-0, and it’s so frustrating that a penalty right at the end of the first half was the catalyst to Newport's remarkable comeback.

Despite only halving the deficit, when former U Mickey Demetriou’s penalty hit the back of the net it felt as though they had taken the lead.

But perhaps that is simply the way things are going at the moment.

When the message was keep it tight for the first 15 minutes of the second half, the U’s found themselves level after four minutes.

Then behind on the hour.

Then, somehow, trying to claw back the deficit they once held three minutes after that.

And it brings with it more difficult questions such as where do the U’s go next? What are the aims for the season? Just how important is January?

For Dunne’s part, he mixed up the team and the formation and it worked perfectly for 40 minutes.

George Taft was recalled to play alongside Louis John in defence, while Greg Taylor was moved into midfield alongside Liam O’Neil and George Maris in a 4-3-3 formation.

And the game couldn’t have started any better.

Perhaps the hosts were shaken after the early injury to Mark O'Brien, but they allowed Jake Carroll to burst forward and pick out Reggie Lambe who smacked the ball into the corner of the goal from the edge of the area after five minutes.

O’Brien’s replacement Charlie Cooper, a constant threat for the hosts, nearly bought them level, but the U’s got their second soon enough.

A fine solo run from Lambe, leaving Newport players in his wake and on their backs, ended in him smacking the ball beyond Nick Townsend.

And that was the time to strike. A third, you feel, would have killed the game and George Maris went mighty close, curling a long-range free-kick beyond Townsend’s right-hand post.

And, even though defensively the U’s looked solid throughout the first half, a moment of madness against cost them a goal.

With Cooper running away from goal, Liam O’Neil pushed him over and it was an easy decision for referee Brett Huxtable, and Demetriou made no mistake.

And three more goals followed within the next 20 minutes. Four minutes after the break Amond reacted the quickest to Antoine Semnyo’s cross to draw his side level, before Matt somehow managed to work through a crowded penalty area to awkwardly nod the ball past Forde.

A Dan Butler free-kick three minutes later was then turned in by Matt.

The U’s had one opportunity to get back into it, with Townsend managing to get the faintest of touches on Lambe’s shot, taking all the pace out of the ball, leading to it trickling agonisingly wide of the mark.

But event after the calamitous start to the second half subsided, the U’s offered little.

Dunne's plan seemed to have worked to an extent, but he can't pull rabbits out of hats. A big reaction is needed on Tuesday.